FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Condemnation of the Bloody Murder of Hamas Leader Sheikh Yassin

Tuesday, March 23, 2004 

The horrific murder of Hamas spiritual leader Sheikh Yassin has rocked the world yet again. In what appears to have been a continuation of the US rhetoric of the ‘War on Terror’, Israel has taken a leaf out of American tactics of pre-emptive strikes to hunt down a feeble 67-year-old blind man. Dick Cheney says "there's only one way to deal with terrorists and that's to root them out and destroy them". Israel seems to have just pursued the policy of Uncle Sam: a policy that holds no one accountable yet kills innocent at will and behest. Hamas has been labeled by the U.S. State Department as a terrorist organization, and as such killing members of Hamas is tantamount to protecting the world from global terror threats. Similar to US tactics of targeted attacking aimed from a distance, Yassin’s car was blasted in a helicopter attack which fired three missiles at Yassin’s car. Sixteen others were wounded in the attack, including two of Yassin's sons; seven of the wounded were in critical condition.

 (http://edition.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/meast/03/22/yassin/index.html).

What appears appalling is the fact that despite committing such a horrendous act of terrorism, Israeli officials maintain the virtuous and upright motive behind the attack. What appears even more atrocious is the fact that Israel conducted such a cold-blooded murder act with the utmost disregard for the possible backlash within the Middle East in particular and the world over in general. Following is a statement from Israel Defense Forces:

"This morning, in a security forces operation in the northern Gaza Strip, the IDF targeted a car carrying the head of the Hamas terror organization, Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, and his aides," an IDF statement said.

"Yassin, responsible for numerous murderous terror attacks, resulting in the deaths of many civilians, both Israeli and foreign, was killed in the attack."

Similarly, the comments of other Israeli officials represent the sense of jubilation over what Israel values as a significant victory.

Israeli government spokesman Avi Pazner said, "Sheikh Yassin was a dangerous, extremist Islamic ideologist. I believe that he was a threat not only to Israel , but to the entire region. I believe the Middle East without Sheikh Yassin, in the long run, will be a better place to live."

Ruth Maron, a spokeswoman for the Israeli military, said the IDF took action because the Palestinian Authority has failed "time and time again to do it, and we have no other choice."

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon thanked the security forces who carried out the operation and said the "war on terror is not over." "The ideological essence of this man was one -- the murder and killing of Jews wherever they are and the destruction of the state of Israel ," Sharon said

While White House National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice insists that the United States did not know about the attack in advance, Izzedine al Qassam, the military wing of Hamas, threatened violent retaliation in a statement, blaming both Israelis and the US government for the assaination. "The Zionists cannot have carried out this act without the approval of the U.S. administration, which carries the responsibility for this crime," said the Izzedine al Qassam statement. While the ever-didactic Condoleezza Rice preaches "It is very important that everyone step back now and try now to be calm in the region," the reality n ground is very different. Violent protests have erupted in Palestinian areas along West Bank and Gaza . CNN reports:

The European Union has on the contrary reacted more pragmatically, and has gauged the gravity of the situation well. European Union foreign ministers condemned the act, terming it as Israel 's "extra-judicial killing". "Not only are extra-judicial killings contrary to international law, they undermine the concept of the rule of law, which is a key element in the fight against terrorism," they said at their regular monthly meeting in Brussels . Similarly, British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw described the assassination as "unacceptable" and "unjustified". Mr. Straw said he did not think Israel would benefit from an attack on an old man in a wheelchair. French Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin said such acts could only "feed the spiral of violence". The European Union's foreign policy chief, Javier Solana, said the killing was "very, very bad news" for the Middle East peace process. In Moscow , the Russian foreign ministry said it was "deeply concerned" at the assassination, which it feared would cause "a new wave of violence".

The New-World Order that the US and its allies are trying to create and perpetuate, and more importantly the means to achieve that Order, will further polarize the world into many different factions. While the US may envisage the Islamic world as the main threat against its New-World Order, the practice of malicious aggression against Islamic targets will lead to further antagonism and alienation of the US and its allies. Iranian officials said the killing would trigger an even bigger struggle against Israel and the US . The cases of US involvement in Afghanistan, Iraq and now the unilateral aggression of Israel in Palestine seems to have extended US Imperialistic motives far greater than just political balance of power. The polarization and passive disapproval for US policies in the Middle East seems to be represented by the comments of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, who described the incident as cowardly, and King Abdullah of Jordan who termed the episode a crime.

The Communist Mazdoor Kissan Party ( Punjab ) repudiates this act of vengeance committed by the Israeli government, and considers it an act of carnage directed unilaterally upon unprovoked individuals. The CMKP bereaves those who lost their loves ones, and condemns the United States and Israel for cultivating hatred and revulsion for US policies among the people of Palestine . The CMKP stands in solidarity with its Palestinian brothers and sisters, and believes that the Imperialist and despotic agenda of the US will serve to create many more freedom fighters for the liberation of the Palestinian nation.